Petroleum products are widely used in production of building and paving materials. Petroleum-based asphalt is used in road and other infrastructure construction. Asphalt is a complex heterogeneous mixture of hydrocarbons usually collected as a byproduct of the refining process of crude oil in petroleum refineries. Asphalt features low viscosity for mixing with aggregates and ease of compaction, and high viscosity at ambient temperature to provide stability of asphalt pavement. For roofing application, there are three basic types of roofing asphalt: coating-grade asphalt, mopping-grade asphalt, and saturant-grade asphalt, which are used for manufacturing asphalt, shingles, built-up roofing, and modified bitumen systems. On average, the asphalt industry produces approximately 38 million tons of asphalt annually.
Thermoplastic or elastomeric polymers, such as styrene-butadiene-styrene and atactic polypropylene, are used in modified asphalt as additives to improve the performance of asphalt.
A sealant is a viscous material that changes state to become solid after the application to close small openings or prevent the penetration of air or liquid. Most of sealant materials contain petroleum based products.
Petroleum asphalt and other petroleum based products contain both long-chain and short-chain molecules. In hot weather, heat promotes the diffusion of the lower molecular weight oils out of the bulk of the materials, causing thermal aging. The high temperature applications of petroleum asphalt generate hydrocarbon fumes, which irritate workers and create a nuisance for the surrounding community. The tight supply of asphalt along with the high cost of petroleum has pushed up the price of asphalt substantially.
The applications of styrene-butadiene-styrene, atactic polypropylene, and other polymers improve the asphalt properties for roofing and paving applications. However, these polymers are expensive and not renewable.
Production and use renewable material based polymers to replace petroleum based products for building and paving applications can reduce the use of petroleum and improve petroleum product performance, reduce volatile organic compounds emissions and greenhouse gas emissions, lower the material costs.
In the U.S, there are about 1.8 million tons of waste cooking oils, 5.4 million tons of animal fats, and 2.0 million tons of trap grease collected annually. The use of these recycled and renewable materials for bio-based adhesive material production to replace the petroleum products can serve important environmental and energy goals and at the same time provide useful products in modern society. This invention accomplishes this goal in providing durable building or paving products derived from renewable oil and a powdered material, which is preferably fly ash from coal-fired power plants.